Share this article
Polygon Sets March Date for zkEVM Mainnet Beta to Go Live
Details about the zkEVM beta network will be released over the next few weeks. The launch is set for March 27.
Updated Feb 14, 2023, 5:46 p.m. Published Feb 14, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Polygon, an Ethereum scaling project, picked March 27 as the date for its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) beta main network to go live.
In a blog post, Polygon did not specify what the beta network will include but shared that the team will be releasing more details leading up to the March date in the coming weeks, and that security of the network will be of highest priority.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Zero-knowledge (ZK) technology is seen by many as a major improvement for blockchains and cryptography, aimed at increasing the speed of transactions and reducing their cost.
ZkEVMs are a type of zero-knowldege (ZK) rollup, a scaling solution that processes transactions faster on a layer 2, then sends the transaction data back to the mainnet blockchain – in this case Ethereum. ZK rollups use “proofs'' to show that a transaction was not spoofed with by only sharing a snippet of information about that transaction.
In October, Polygon went live with its zkEVM testnet, which deploys the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for its ZK rollup, allowing Ethereum developers to move over their smart contracts from the main blockchain without having to reprogram them in a different language.
Since the testnet went live, over 75,000 ZK proofs have been generated and 5,000 smart contracts have been deployed, according to the blog post.
In an interview last week, co-founder of Polygon Mihailo Bjelic told CoinDesk the blockchain is also exploring ways in which it could bring ZK-technology to its main chain, the Polygon POS chain.
“Polygon zkEVM Mainnet is set to be the first fully EVM equivalent ZK rollup to reach mainnet, this represents a huge step towards scaling Ethereum and bringing Web3 to the masses,” Sandeep Nailwal, a co-founder of Polygon, said in an email to CoinDesk. “The countdown is on.”
The price of Polygon's native MATIC token is up 56% this year.
Read more: Polygon Exploring Use of ZK Technology for Main Chain, Co-Founder Bjelic Says
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Bitcoin's Quantum threat is ‘real but distant,’ says Wall Street analyst as doomsday debate rages on
Wall Street broker Benchmark argued the crypto network has ample time to evolve as quantum risks shift from theory to risk management.
What to know:
- Broker Benchmark said Bitcoin’s main vulnerability lies in exposed public keys, not the protocol itself.
- Coinbase’s new Quantum Advisory Council marks a shift from theoretical concern to institutional response.
- Bitcoin’s architecture is conservative but adaptable, according to Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, with a long runway for upgrades.
Top Stories
